The recession has hit the Midwest hard. Traditionally home to big manufacturing plants, the latest economic downturn has been especially difficult for industry-based communities that had already struggled for years to survive outsourced manufacturing. But thanks to new developments in …

Tabari Morris, a 34-year-old Northern California resident, says he was doing janitorial work before he heard about a unique opportunity from his brother-in-law. “I was thinking, I need a real career,” he says. “In 30 years, I need to be …